Father Dyer Peak

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 7/2/2023, By: glenhanderson
Info: Fun scramble route up Father Dyer Peak East Ridge, then over to Crystal Peak, then down the northeast ridge of Crystal back to the alpine meadow at Lower Crystal Lake for the descent back to the car. First the TH situation. We non-Coloradoans thought we might be able to get up to the Lake or at least Francie's Cabin area via the Crystal Creek Road. We had a 4WD Sprinter Van. Uh no. We did see trucks, jeeps, and SUVs make it that day. We ended up parking at the Lower Spruce Creek TH instead and hiked up the Crystal Creek Road. That was not a bad way to go. Not sure why anyone would take the rough road to Upper Spruce Creek TH? That is also very rough and not viable for the van and you don't really benefit versus just going up Crystal Creek Road. Anyway, once we hit the Lower Crystal Lake, we veered left and hiked up to the ridge below Father Dyer. There were a couple snow patches on the way, no problem. The scramble route up the east ridge is pretty tame. A few times we stuck to narrow ridges or class 3 sections, but they all seemed avoidable by faint trails that went around. The wind came and went, but was noticeable along many of the ridges we took, had to wear shells and gloves at times. No snow encountered on the east ridge of Father Dyer. We met a Boulder couple on the summit who had come from the spicier ridge from Mount Helen and had a chat and then followed them over to Crystal Peak. This ridge is basic boulder hopping and class 2. No snow. From Crystal we took the northeast ridge down to the saddle below Peak 10 and then caught the trail that goes back down to Lower Crystal Lake. The Crystal ridge descent did have some snow travel and it was soft and postholing. We avoided as much as we could. It was straightforward though and we never used gaiters or spikes nor did we have ice axes. We ran into a number of vehicles and people coming up to the Lake area to either camp or hang out and when we got back down to Lower Spruce Creek TH and drove off, it was super busy with vehicles parked everywhere. Expected I guess since it's a long July 4th weekend for many. Great loop today and fantastic views all around! There was a bit of rain and hail late in the day as we were descending from Lower Crystal but only lasted 10 mins. 

Route: Combo Helen/Father Dyer/Crystal
Posted On: 7/1/2023, By: sarahmariekirk
Info: Class 3 ridge from Helen to Father Dyer and then walk up from FD to Crystal and Peak 10. The class 3 route is completely dry and good to go! Super fun route with great scrambling opportunities. There was an aggressive and territorial goat on the summit of Helen that started following us over to Father Dyer, which was an experience lol. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 6/26/2023, By: jamie09302
Info: The class 3 portion of the route is in excellent condition. No snow. A few snowfields at lower elevations but micro spikes are not needed. Cannot currently drive all the way up the 4WD road to Crystal Lake, too many large snowdrifts. Had to start at the normal 4WD trailhead. Hiking up the 4WD road, some portions have turned into a deep stream so your feet may get wet. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 4/10/2023, By: jbealer
Info: I took the CMC Alpine climbing school students out for a ridge hike yesterday, they got more spicy then they had signed up for, but thats what they get for letting me suggest peaks. I did this one back in Nov. and there was more snow on the ridge but way more on the slope leading up to the peak which is an avy concern, and some sloughing in the snow on that slope but we took the most direct safe line up and it felt good early in the morning. the ridge off of Crystal also had more snow but it was way more stable now. we did have to cross 3 snow fields on the way off of Crystal on the standard route, the slopes were filled with stable snow and more water dense snow, but we did not break through any layers, it was solid, we still booted about shin deep in some places and hard barley kickable snow on the same slope crossing. you do have to park at the lower TH, there is a HUGE pile of snow blocking the upper road so no telling when that will melt out. we booted it to the turn off for Father then used snowshoes to the ride, boots and axes on the ridge then put crampons on to come off Crystal and for the snow crossings. you might be able to get away with just spikes but we were teaching and used what we had brought. 

Route: east ridge to father dyer- down crystals ridge
Posted On: 11/14/2022, By: jbealer
Info: we were able to drive to the upper trail head, but it was really icy in spots on the road. the 2 gates up to the lakes have the upper 4wd road closed. we did not use any SS or traction, some might have like spikes but we felt fine. we did bring and most in our group used ice axes on the class 3 sections and then on some deep snow sections off the ridge of crystal. go get some fun snow scrambles before avy gets to bad. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 9/26/2022, By: cougar
Info: Basically dry, some miniscule spots of snow in deep shade under north facing rocks, didn't have to step on any. Another climber said traverse from Helen was clear. Same on way to Crystal and all the peaks in the area (got out ito Peak 10 and 9), all dry but a bit of snow forecasted tomorrow. Loose talus is the bigger obstacle past Father Dyer. Fall colors near peak. Young bull moose in the area around treeline. 

Route: Combo Helen/Father Dyer/Crystal
Posted On: 9/18/2022, By: Laxer04
Info: Went up Helen and then over to Father Dyer. Stuck to the ridge proper. Super fun class 3 traverse. No snow or ice on route, but you could see the fresh dusting of snow on Quandary. Winter is coming! 

Route: Combo Helen/Father Dyer/Crystal
Posted On: 7/5/2022, By: arthurtect
Info: Ascended up Helen's east slope (green and covered with wildflowers), then traversed to Father Dyer and Crystal (dry and awesome). Descended down Crystals south slope (hill of loose rocks) and then connected to the Mohawk Lakes trail back to our vehicle. Mountain goats and Big Horn sheep and every flower imaginable! 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 6/28/2022, By: barnsy12
Info: Crystal lake rd has plenty of water before getting to the lake, but the 4WD road is in good condition. No issues driving to 12k ft in a stock wrangler. Rest of the route is in summer conditions. 

Route: Combo Helen/Father Dyer/Crystal
Posted On: 6/12/2022, By: JaredJohnson
Info: Climbed Helen Mtn, traversed to Father Dyer, descended Father Dyer's East Ridge. Very little snow and all easily avoidable until below the east ridge near treeline, a small snowfield or two which did not require me to take out the spikes or axe that I had brought. Father Dyer's summit register tube thingy is empty and missing its cap It did look like the surrounding peaks such as crystal had some snow on the ridge. I have photos I might get around to posting 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 6/21/2021, By: dwoodward13
Info: Summer conditions. Some water running on the road/trail. You can hop around most of it or weave thru the willows on the side to stay dry. Route doesn't seem to be well marked/traveled but its easy to figure out where to go. 

Route: Combo Helen/Father Dyer/Crystal
Posted On: 6/21/2021, By: tefensmom
Info: Full summer conditions save for a couple minor snowfields (no traction needed) on the descent from Crystal. Trail runners the whole day. We agreed this had some class 4 moves, or maybe we just suck at routefinding. Very fun traverse from Mt Helen to Father Dyer. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 6/13/2021, By: ktfoote628
Info: Father Dyer is dry as a bone but things in the area are melting fast so the creek crossings are high and a lot of the lower trails have turned into a stream. I took my shoes off at one of the creek crossings because the water was high and fast and I didn't trust the wet logs... on the way back, I used them but I crawled haha, I started at the 4WD trailhead which I thought was somewhat rough but 3 Subarus made it (when I went down, a lot of Jeeps had stopped lower). I recommend Wheeler Road approach versus Wheeler Trail unless you like slightly sketchy creek crossings. Only saw a CMC group up there today. Definitely an easy class 3, good season warm up. I traversed over to Crystal and will post a separate report for that peak. Wildflowers are starting to pop, even on the scramble itself which was beautiful! 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 1/2/2021, By: weakenedwarrior
Info: Parked at the lower TH which is plowed. From the TH to treeline through Crystal Creek road the trail was hard packed. From treeline to the lake snowshoes are pretty much a requirement - the trail has a good wind crust at times but gets very faint and can get hard to follow. Snowshoes are also very helpful to get to the flat spot 400' up the ridge so don't stash them too early. The ridge was not as wind blown as I was expecting and with all the snow I had a hard time finding the class 3 bypasses to keep it class 2 and I ended up scrambling on the crest for most of the ridge. I had a much better look on the way down to keep it easier. Quite windy from treeline to the lake and even more to go from the top of the ridge to the actual summit but it was manageable while going up the ridge. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 9/25/2020, By: berko89
Info: Summer conditions on Father Dyer's East Ridge route. There was a bit of ice on shaded rocks from precipitation the previous night but not in any locations that interfered with the route - in general, twas a fun moderate scramble up dry rock. We continued over to Crystal Peak and descended via the Crystal trail - summer conditions there too.